The carriage suddenly became quiet, except for the regular "click-click-click" sound of the rails outside.
Then, after a while, the soldiers suddenly became active:
"No, this is impossible. Are you the 'escape hero'?"
"We were just talking about you!"
"They said you also made the plan to rescue Odessa, right?"
…
"Where did you know this?" Shulka was a little surprised. This plan had been a military secret before.
But of course, after the Battle of Odessa it was no longer a secret.
But it still surprised Shulka that these soldiers who were protecting the train knew that.
"Kiev has already spread!" Yakov explained: "We have been traveling back and forth between Kiev and Odessa, so we can always get the latest news!"
Shulka said "Oh".
"I think we should thank you, Comrade Shulka!" Yakov said.
"Why?"
"Because of this plan!" Yakov explained: "This is a good plan, you may not know what this means to us... We are Odessa people, there are our families and our friends there
!”
"Yes, Comrade Shulka!" said another soldier: "We can't imagine what will happen if Odessa is occupied by the enemy!"
…
This was something Shulka didn't expect.
Shulka only thought about strategy, tactics, deductions, and of course his own safety, but he did not expect that every battle was also connected to countless family ties and friendships.
"It's nothing, comrades!" Shulka replied: "This is what I should do. In fact, the ones who saved Odessa were Major Gavrilov, other officers and soldiers of the 9th Mechanized Army, and you...
…As long as we can unite together, we will definitely be able to drive the invaders out of our motherland and win!”
"Yes, Comrade Shulka!"
"Well said, Comrade Shulka!"
…
Major Gavrilov patted Shulka on the shoulder and said: "Maybe we should let you give a speech, I mean to the soldiers and civilians of Odessa!"
"No, Comrade Major!" Shulka said: "I only care about one issue now!"
"what is the problem?"
"Where is the side?"
The soldiers roared with laughter.
The side room was placed in a small compartment deep in the carriage... It was said to be a side room but it was actually just a bucket, and all kinds of filth were unbearable to look at.
"Be careful of those boards in front, Comrade Shulka!" Yakov reminded: "You have to step between them, otherwise you may be shocked!"
Shulka checked with his feet and found that those boards were indeed loose. If he stepped on them, he would be startled and probably fall off... The bottom of the trains in this era was nailed with wooden boards.
This is indeed what happens when things fall into disrepair over time.
But these are nothing to Shulka. He seems to have become accustomed to these after coming to this time and space...Normally marching battles are often solved anywhere, and they often have to be solved quickly, so it is not much better.
At least there was no rain in the train, which allowed Shulka to lean on the box and take a nap.
The only regret is that you can't smoke in the carriage, because the carriage is full of ammunition, and it would be no joke if it exploded.
Shulka thought that this might be the reason why the canister carriage was chosen for transportation... From the perspective of protecting the safety of the train, a few observation holes must be opened on both sides of the carriage anyway, so that the soldiers hiding inside would not be able to see completely.
Not to the situation outside.
But this may not only fail to protect the train, but may also be counterproductive... Ammunition is transported in the carriage, and the guerrillas only need to climb on the carriage at a certain location and stuff a grenade into the perforation, and then
A "boom" sound...
Shulka learned from Yakov that the speed of this train was about 50 kilometers per hour, which meant that it would take more than ten hours to reach Kiev.
During this period, the soldiers had a dinner of unpalatable black bread... This made Shulka know that his previous statement was correct. In order to repay the favor of the 9th Mechanized Army for rescuing the siege, the Odessa soldiers put more
Good supplies were left for them.
Unknowingly, the time entered night, but it made no difference to the soldiers who were trapped in the carriage, because they could not see anything anyway.
Shurka took the time to sort out his equipment. This was a habit he had developed since participating in the battle. He did not want to find that there were only two bullets in the bullet bag when an emergency came.
"Why don't you get a pistol!" Second Lieutenant Gavrilov asked: "After all, you are already the company commander!"
"I did!" Shulka said, "but they told me there was a serious shortage of pistols!"
"Yes!" Yakov said: "This may be puzzling. Pistols are much lighter and smaller than rifles but are in serious shortage. But that is normal, because the battlefield requires rifles more than pistols, so from the Gram
All the goods shipped from Limia are rifles, and they don’t want to waste precious space and transportation capacity on pistols!”
Yakov has been protecting transport troops for some time, so he knows these things well.
"I'll apply for one for you when you go back!" Major Gavrilov said.
"No, Major!" Shulka said, "Maybe I can get some from the Germans!"
The soldiers laughed knowingly.
But at this moment, there was only a "boom" sound, and then the train suddenly stopped. The soldiers in the carriage fell into a pile involuntarily under the strong inertia.
Then there was loud gunfire outside.
"Enemy!" Yakov's face changed drastically under the light of the flashlight: "It's the guerrillas. We were attacked by the guerrillas!"
After a pause, Yakov shouted an order: "Open the door and protect the train!"
"No!" Shulka quickly stopped him: "Don't open the door!"
"Comrade Shulka?" Yakov looked at Shulka doubtfully.
"They have been prepared for a long time!" Shulka said: "They will use firepower to block the car doors!"
"That's right!" Major Gavrilov agreed: "They will even throw grenades into the carriage!"
"But Major..." Yakov said nervously: "If we don't go out, wait until they finish off the others..."
Needless to say what will happen next, after the guerrillas have eliminated the soldiers guarding outside the carriage, the next step is to blow up the train.
So staying in it is also death.
"Follow me!" Shulka didn't even explain, grabbed the rifle and walked deeper.
Walk to the side and step on it. Several wooden boards will tilt up, revealing a hole leading below.